• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Fit Mitten Kitchen

balanced baking and real food recipes

Subscribe to receive my FREE Healthy Nut Butter eBook!
Free eBook!
  • Recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast
        • Egg Dishes
        • Oatmeal & Granola
        • Pancakes & Waffles
        • Scones
        • Smoothies
      • Desserts
        • Bars & Brownies
        • Cakes & Cupcakes
        • Candy
        • Cookies
        • Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts
        • PIes, Tarts & Crisps
        • Cinnamon Rolls
      • Healthy Drinks
      • Lunch & Dinner
        • Appetizers
        • Bowls
        • Salads
        • Sandwiches & Wraps
        • Sides
        • Soups & Chili
      • Snacks
        • Bars & Balls
        • Muffins & Breads
        • Nut & Seed Butters
    • Dietary
      • Dairy Free
      • Gluten-Free
      • No Added Sugar
      • Nut-Free
      • Oil-Free
      • Paleo
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • Whole30
    • Method
      • Food Processor & Blender
      • Freezer
      • Grill
      • Instant Pot
      • No-Bake
      • Oven
      • Slow Cooker
      • Stovetop
    • Protein
      • Chicken
      • Plant Based
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Turkey
    • Recipe Videos
  • About
    • Meet Ashley
    • Work with Me
      • Partnerships
    • Contact
  • Lifestyle
    • Real Talk
    • Travel
    • Workouts
  • Shop
Home Recipes Course Lunch & Dinner Salads Maple Balsamic Quinoa Lentil Salad
GF Gluten-Free VG Vegetarian

Maple Balsamic Quinoa Lentil Salad

Jump to Recipe Rate Recipe
Posted:6/16/21
Updated:6/16/21

A quinoa lentil salad bursting with flavor and texture thanks to red pepper, carrots, scallions and feta. Tossed in a maple balsamic dressing for a crowd pleasing salad. Gluten free and vegetarian.

quinoa and lentil salad with carrots, feta, diced red bell pepper and scallions in white bowl, on gray board

This Salad is SO Flavorful!

This salad was inspired by a recipe from a farmer’s market in Pennsylvania and I’ve been hooked ever since!

A simple quinoa lentil salad, made with the little french green lentils.

I’ve made this recipe several times for barbecues and dinner gatherings, and it has never disappointed!

The combination of ingredients comes together for a mix of textures and flavors that is so satisfying.

quinoa lentil salad with carrots, red pepper and pita chips in bowl

Salad Ingredients

  • french green lentils, red quinoa and white quinoa – I really recommend french green lentils as they hold their shape a bit better. For the quinoa, you can also cook a tri-blend.
  • carrots, red bell pepper and scallions – thinly sliced carrots, diced bell pepper and scallions offer a variety of texture and flavor.
  • feta cheese – love the saltiness it adds to this salad and works well with the balsamic maple dressing.
  • sea salt & thyme – for some additional flavor.
french green lentils, red quinoa, white quinoa, red bell pepper, carrots and green onion on gray board with text labels

Maple Balsamic Dressing

This dressing is so delicious and really makes this salad come to life!

Here’s what you need:

  • balsamic vinegar
  • maple syrup
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • lemon 
  • fresh garlic
  • salt

How To Make

This quinoa lentil salad is really quite simple and comes together so easily.

cook quinoa and lentils together

Put rinsed lentils, quinoa, thyme, and salt in large pot with 1 1/3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes (until water has gone). Drain any excess water and let cool.

prep vegetables and feta

In a large bowl combine grated carrot, diced red pepper, and chopped scallions. Set aside.

make the dressing

Combine juice of one lemon, garlic, maple syrup, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt – whisk well or use blender.

  • olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemons, maple syrup and garlic on gray board, with text labels

Combine

Let your quinoa and lentils cool, toss everything together in a bowl, chill in the fridge and you’re done!

carrots, red bell pepper, scallions, and quinoa in glass bowl

Easy to Meal Prep

This salad is even great to make the night before, because the flavors of the dressing get a chance to seep into all the pockets of quinoa and veggies.

How to Serve

This lentil salad is great as a side dish for cookouts, meal prep salad for lunch, and works great as a dip served with pita chips too.

This quinoa lentil salad serves 6 as a decent sized side, with 13 grams of fat, 24 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of plant-based PROTEIN (thanks to the lentils and quinoa).

More Gluten Free Salads for Meal Prep

  • Crunchy Cashew Quinoa Salad
  • Vegan Kale Caesar Salad
  • Kale Rainbow Quinoa Salad
  • Easy Chickpea Salad

If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and review below! It is a huge help to hear from you and it also helps others learn more about the recipe too!

Print

Maple Balsamic Quinoa Lentil Salad

quinoa lentil salad with carrots, red pepper and pita chips in bowl
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

A delicious combination of flavors and textures happening in this Maple Balsamic Quinoa Lentil Salad. Cook the quinoa and lentils together, prep the vegetables, toss with a homemade balsamic dressing and enjoy as as side dish or with chips for dipping. Delicious, gluten free and vegetarian.

  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 35 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale

For the salad:

  • 2/3 cup uncooked french green lentils, rinsed
  • 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
  • 1/3 cup uncooked red quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated (or 1 cup bagged shredded carrots)
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 bunch of scallions, green and white parts chopped
  • 6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:

  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 TBS pure maple syrup
  • 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  1. Put rinsed lentils, quinoa, thyme, and salt in large pot with 1 1/3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes (until water has gone). Drain any excess water and let cool.
  2. In a large bowl combine grated carrot, diced red pepper, and chopped scallions. Set aside.
  3. Combine juice of one lemon, garlic, maple syrup, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt – whisk well or use blender.
  4. Add the cooled quinoa and lentils to the bowl of vegetables, add dressing and toss to coat. Fold in your crumbled feta.
  5. Let chill in fridge for 30 minutes until ready to serve. Serve as side salad or with chips for dipping.

Notes

Using either all red or all white quinoa is fine. The red quinoa tends to hold it’s shape better for cold salads like this one, but I like the mix of white in there as well.

1 cup or pre-packaged shredded carrots works just fine, but I prefer the freshly grated whole carrots as they aren’t as dry.

This salad is great to make ahead, as the flavors of the dressing will settle in overnight in the fridge.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/6
  • Calories: 221
  • Sugar: 8
  • Sodium: 461
  • Fat: 14
  • Saturated Fat: 5
  • Unsaturated Fat: 7
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 24
  • Fiber: 4
  • Protein: 12
  • Cholesterol: 25

Keywords: lentil salad recipe, quinoa salad, balsamic dressing recipe

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @fitmittenkitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #fitmittenkitchen

Save

About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

Previous Post
Creamy Vegan Coleslaw
strawberry crisp in skillet with ice cream and spoon
Next Post
Gluten Free Strawberry Crisp

Reader Interactions

Rate this Recipe Cancel reply

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Connie says

    8/6/2018 at 10:00 pm

    I made this for dinner tonight, and we really liked it! I used the combination of red and white quinoa, but I normally don’t have the red. I did get nervous about the lentils and quinoa cooking in only 1 1/3 cups of water and ended up using about 2 cups. I don’t think it hurt anything. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

More...

31 Holiday Cookies for Your Cookie Exchange

baked gingerbread bundt cake

Gingerbread Bundt Cake

bowl of pear salad with fresh pomegranates and candied pecans and orange poppyseed dressing jar

Pomegranate Pear Salad

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

overhead view of honey glazed carrots on rectangle baking dish with fresh thyme

Honey Glazed Carrots

stacked gingerbread truffles on green plate next to red gingerbread cookie cutter and red towel in background

Easy Gingerbread Truffles

pieces of cranberry orange baked oatmeal on oval plate

Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal

mocha mini cheesecake with whipped topping on black plate and dessert forks

Mini Mocha Cheesecakes

Free recipe ebook!

Subscribe and get a FREE healthy nut butter ebook!

Thank you for subscribing!
Trending Now
butternut squash, feta and kale salad in bowl Lunch & Dinner
chai latte in mug with cinnamon and star anise Cozy Drinks
banana peanut butter cinnamon rolls on small white plates with banana slices Cinnamon Rolls
As Featured On
  • Browse by Diet
  • Gluten-Free
  • Dairy Free
  • Vegan
  • Paleo
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
Exclusive Member of Mediavine· © 2023 · All Rights Reserved · Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled Back to Top

Subscribe & receive a free nut butter ebook!

Thank you for subscribing!
673 shares